How best to care for the many adolescents who have depression? In a collaborative care intervention, a care manager continually reached out to teens—delivering and following up on treatment in a primary-care setting (the office of a pediatrician or family doctor, not a psychiatrist or psychologist) at Group Health Cooperative. Depression outcomes after a year were significantly better with this approach than with usual care, according to a randomized controlled trial published in JAMA.

When you feel really down, even a single positive change can make a real difference. But if you experiment with three small changes in one week, you may increase your chances of lifting your spirits even more.